Spite Drinking: Try this White Chocolate Russian after Labor Day

As the wise Craig Hoffman syndicatedly says, “I play by my own rules. Nobody else’s. Not even my own.” In his honor we’re drinking white after Labor Day by way of a White Chocolate Russian.

In the quest for a spite-white drink I came upon a realization… there aren’t many white cocktails. That really shouldn’t have come as a surprise considering I can only think of three potential ingredients that are white. Luckily, I’ve been looking for an excuse to break open my bottle of Trader Vic’s White Chocolate Liqueur. What better time than now?

A White Russian was the first thing that popped into my head. Partly because it has white in the name, but mostly because of the Jeffrey Lebowski is always front-of-mind. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would let someone else dictate when he’s allowed to wear white either. You can call yourself a “tastemaker” all you want, but The Dude doesn’t abide.

Everyone has different measurements for their White Russian, and I have no doubt the White Chocolate Russian will be the same. It all depends on whether you prefer more chocolate or more cream. I settled on mine as the perfect balance of the spirit of the original and my love of chocolate.

If you want to stick to the basics, here are the oldest Black Russian and White Russian recipes I can find. They’re from an ad for Coffee Southern in the March 7th, 1965 edition of the Philadelphia Enquirer.

Colin Joliat is the brains behind this rinky-dink operation. He covers the alcohol industry with two parts information, one part comedy, and one part WTF is wrong with this guy. He's written for Brobible, Guyism, Thrillist, CoolMaterial, Craft, and more.